Law And More

Addiction - The Sarpashana Way To Leverage It For Wonderful Things

For some the can't-stop is Nutella.

For others it's the usual: alcohol.

Then there are those who only feel whole when working compulsively.

Every week they gather at a handful of Shambhala Meditation Centers throughout the U.S. for Sarpashana. One is in New Haven, Connecticut. Another is in Tucson, Arizona.

The essence of the Sarpashana approach to recovery is that the disease can be a platform for wonderful things. The term is a Sanskrit one meaning "poison eater."

It's only by ingesting poison that the peacock derives his plumage. So, the attendees are upbeat. The poison of addiction can be the path to unique self awareness, professional accomplishments, service to others and transformational intimate relationships.

The mechanics include a reading, usually from Pema Chodron's books such as "Comfortable with Uncertainty." Then there is a 20-minute meditation, the reading done again, a 45-minute discussion, and another 5-minutes of meditation.

No, Sarpashana doesn't replace other types of recovery tools such as 12-step meetings, detox and rehab. It's more like getting off the standard highway and opening yourself to unexpected perspectives.

For example, the helplessness of being in an addiction can soften the heart and downsize trust in the mind. It can be the first step to becoming part of the human race.

It came to me at yesterday's Sarpashana in Tucson that had Shakespeare's Hamlet been an addict and wanted to gain release, he would have surrendered. That is, to his fundamental humanity.

But he wasn't an addict. Instead Hamlet's heart remained hard. What was rotten in Denmark was his thinking.

There is no charge for Sarpashana.   

Thomas Gilbert Jr.'s Lawyer, Alex Spiro, Tells Court He Plans Psychiatric Defense

The psychiatric defense didn't work for James Holmes, the Colorado theatre shooter. He now faces a sentence of death or life imprisonments.

Will it work in New York for Thomas Gilbert Jr.?

Allegedly he murdered his father Thomas Gilbert Sr. with a shot to the head. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life or a minimum of 25 years. His defense lawyer, Alex Spiro, informed the court that he will present a psychiatric defense. The judge in the case, Melissa Jackson, has required a psychiatric exam.

Like Holmes, Gilbert Jr. has a documented record of psychiatric problems. The media, loving sagas of dysfunctional wealthy families, provided juicy details of Jr.'s aberrant behavior before this most recent trouble. Here is the account in Vanity Fair.

Typical of so many with a pedigree who don't make it professionally, Jr. seemed to be eaten up by the success of those who were once his peer group. Meanwhile, as the Vanity Fair piece explains, Sr. wasn't doing all that hot himself professionally at the time of his death. He wasn't keeping up with his own peers in the hedge fund world.

Meanwhile the late Anthony Marshall, son of Brooke Astor, only left a little over $14 million. Peanuts. During his trial, in which he was convicted of attempting to defraud his mother, all the details came up about what a mess that family had been. Marshall, it seems, could not keep up with what his mother expected of him.

Chicago Law Bulletin, Chicago - Digital Editor

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Hulk Hogan Trial Against Gawker In Florida - Delayed Until March 7, 2016

The folks at Gawker now will have time to get their own house in order after recent multiple upheavals at the digital tabloid.

The lawsuit filed against it by Hulk Hogan won't take place in Florida until March 7, 2016. It had been scheduled for October 2015.

Hogan is requesting $100 million for alleged invasion of privacy. Gawker posted a tape of him having sex.

Entertainment Immigration Firm, Los Angeles - Writer

Here are details and how to apply.

Afraid Of Winding Up Homeless? You're Probably Not The Type

"The moment of transition is one of the great mysteries of homelessness. At what point does a person change from being inside his house to being outside of all houses?" - Alexander Masters, the book "Stuart - a life backwards," Delacorte Press, 2005, page 42. Here you can order it from Amazon. And  here is background on this amazing biography set in England, which was made into a television program and stage play.

Unemployed/underemployed lawyers and insecure law students likely fear becoming homeless.

Incidentally, that's angst unique to Millennials. We Baby Boomers came of professional age amid a fast-growing economy. When we lost jobs, which we certainly did, we got another one pronto. Let the good times roll.

What Alexander Masters does in "Stuart - a life backwards" is drill down to the mindset which allows for homelessness. The organizational structure is the biography of his friend Stuart Shorter who fell off the edge. Masters begins at the end of Shorter's life and traces things back to his childhood. In the process, he also analyzes others in the "community" of the homeless.

Masters recognizes he himself is not that type. And probably most lawyers and law students will too. Human beings who wind up homeless and don't find their way back to the norms of a society are a breed apart. Masters had worked for five years in hostels for the homeless in England.

What Masters captures is a kind of parallel universe. Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald observed about the wealthy - that they are different from the rest of the human race - so are the homeless. They are confident they can navigate a world most of the rest of us consider we couldn't survive. And they usually do, at least emotionally. Death comes around or before the early 40s. Shorter died at age 33, hit by a train. There is no conclusive evidence that it was suicide.

Lawyers and law students who attend 12-step programs bump into plenty of former homeless people. But they might not have truly been of that breed. Substance abuse derailed them for a while but they had the whatever to bounce back into society's norms. Sustained homelessness seems, from what Masters depicts, like a deliberate choice. It's unlikely if you're reading this that you'll be making one of those.

Insomnia & Lost Productivity - Should Managing Partners Start Singing Lullabies (metaphorically speaking)

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 40.6 million American workers, or 30% of the civilian workforce don't get enough rest. And the Harvard scientists estimated in 2011 that sleep deprivation costs U.S. companies $63.2 billion in lost productivity per year, mainly because of ... people showing up for work but operating at subpar levels." - Lauren Weber, The Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2013. Here is the article.

There is the all-nighter at the law firm which is completely filled with work. Then there is the all-nighter at home which consists of fretting about whatever. Those who experience the latter will show up for work that morning. But likely they will, research shows, function at a subpar level.

Managing partners can experiment with types of lullabies, metaphorically speaking.

For example, they can reduce angst and uncertainty by being straight with lawyers and staff about their performance. In his book "Inside Straight," former Jones Day partner Mark Herrmann, now in-house at Aon, explains that's not what typically happens. For any number of reasons, both Machiavellian and intended as kind, law firm employees don't know how they are being perceived.

Of course, they will lose sleep over that. As the cliché hammers: The truth will set them free - to deal with reality instead of wrestling with what-if scenarios all-night. Once I was informed I was on the RIF list at Kraft, I started sleeping again.

Another kind of lullabie is being present for the workforce. That reassures that someone cares. Not that it's a love-in. What's established is a feeling of safety. Secure people can sleep at night.

A third is reducing extreme overwork. Wall Street is being forced to admit that the ethos of serial all-nighters might not be a plus in the organizational culture.

A law firm might try to differentiate itself from its bone-weary competition by showcasing a well-rested workforce. Its advertising in airports can gush: "Our lawyers sleep at night, so they can give full attention to the nuances of your case. Our win rate is 95%."

Faux Law Jobs - WSJ Updates That Issue

We all know how it irked the ranking folks et al. how law schools were counting in faux jobs in the placement figures. An example of a faux job was the one the law school paid to create, as with a placement at a non-profit for a new graduate.

Today, Sara Randazzo updates that story in The Wall Street Journal.

Startups & Contract Worker V. Employee Issue - Investors Are Nervous

No one can predict if "O'Connor v. Uber" will make it to class-action status. If it does and the plaintiffs - Uber contract drivers - win or get a settlement that gives them employee status, others will be emboldened to also file lawsuits. That is scaring investors in startups. 

In The Wall Street Journal, Greg Bensinger reports:

"Lawsuits are threatening to reclassify their contractors as employees, which could drive up labor costs an estimated 20% to 40%. That has put an investment chill over these startups and prompted some founders to switch their business models."

Investors are skittish for several reasons.

At the top of the list is the uncertainty. Today they could be funding a lean startup not burdened with the cost of traditional employees and the regulatory maze that goes with that. Soon enough the contract workers in that startup could file a lawsuit and the whole situation changes. Expenses skyrocket. A compliance expert has to be hired to manage the human resources issues.

Another reason is the ugly publicity that goes with any employment-related lawsuit. The company can come off looking like a meanie, not the platform for enlightened leadership.

A third reason is the reduced flexibility which comes with having a traditional workforce. If the company is large and plans a layoff, it has to comply with the WARN Act.

Obviously, in their pitches for funding, startups will have to cover the possibility of adopting the employee model. They better have good answers for investors' questions.  

 

Pope Francis - A Shame Congress Can't Snatch Back September Invitation

To many American influential, Pope Francis has become a "problem."

He tends to pontificate (pun intended) on topics critical to the smooth functioning of capitalism. Those range from the supposed wrongness of extreme wealth to man as the miscreant who created climate change.

So, there are a lot of nervous folks who fear what will come out of his mouth when he addresses Congress in September. The official word from the Vatican is that he will stick with spiritual topics. But, no one is betting on it.

This leader of the Roman Catholic Church has been known to shoot off his mouth, whenever. He gets the media attention. So, why not.

Congress can't snatch back the invite. So, anticipate the U.S. business community being ready with talking points, prepared by their public relations representatives, to defend itself if there is a rhetorical ambush. All media covering the address will receive a ton of traffic, likes, shares and comments.